UN Dubai Forum closes with calls for focus on women entrepreneurs, innovation and sustainable development for all — Global Issues
Youth and innovation were the highlight in the closing ceremony of the Forum, as the top three winners of ‘Arab protestsThe startup competition for university students from the Arab Region took place on the sidelines of WEIF 2022.
Sustainable development through entrepreneurship
End date of WEIF 2022 see participants, partners and co-sponsors, including the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)-ITPO, as well as the Arab League, Arab Chamber of Commerce, Bahrain Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), expressed strong commitment to achieving 17 global goals mentioned in Agenda 2030 for sustainable development.
Furthermore, the UAE Declaration states: “We recognize that entrepreneurship and innovation are the driving forces for job creation, economic growth and realization of social benefits; We recommend that all efforts be focused towards the goal of sustainable development through entrepreneurship and innovation, achievable through strong, inclusive, sustainable and sustainable economic growth. resilience “.
Summing up the three-day Forum, Dr. Hashim Hussein, Executive Director of WEIF, said: “This is the closing session. But WEIF never closes. Each of our WEIFs has a statement to summarize what happened. This year, the statement is being read by an African and an Arab businessman because this year, this global forum is focusing on the Arab region and Africa”.
“We are here connecting minds and hearts, under the auspices of the Arab League.”
Gender equality ‘must have’ to start a business
Forum participants have a special interest in empowering women at all economic levels to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals through innovation and entrepreneurship. “We encourage the active participation of women in all sectors through entrepreneurship and innovation,” the statement read.
It also emphasizes the need to develop and implement sound policies, laws and economic programs as key strategies for sustainable development and ensuring women’s empowerment at the national level. national, regional and global.
The statement also emphasizes the need to build strong partnerships between entrepreneurs – both women and men – to share best practices relevant to linking financial services and non-financial can improve the equity of entrepreneurs and support micro and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
Closing the session, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary General of the League of Arab Nations, said that young men and women of the Arab countries, with more than 100 million people, are the mainstay of the Arab region. .
He also stressed the importance of providing an environment that enables Arab youth to succeed, “because their success means the success of the Arab nation and society.”
Mr. Gheit detailed three pieces of advice for young people in the Arab region: “First, work to the end of your life; second, read to the point of blindness; and third, let’s hope that your wishes come true. “
The way forward and the role of UNIDO
The UAE statement also calls for the discovery and expansion of new investment areas, namely renewable and ‘green’ energy, green economy, ‘orange’ (creative) economy, focusing into commerce and heritage, special programs and initiatives for the economic empowerment of people with disabilities.
Strengthening synergies between governments, the private sector, philanthropists, civil society, financial institutions, think tanks, universities, schools, departments, NGOs government, media and international organizations to work together to facilitate resilient entrepreneurs and innovative businesses to achieve their goals. Sustainable development goals was also stressed.
UNIDO’s role in promoting inclusive and sustainable industrial development as well as the remarkable achievements of previous WEIF editions are also appreciated.
Ciyong Zou, Executive Director of Programs & Partners at UNIDO said: “I am delighted to see this amazing innovation and progress happening within WEIF. As you all know, post-COVID events are playing an important role in achieving economic growth and WEIF has seen how we can create resilience to help the global economy. develop and develop. At the same time, however, we must work together to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. ”
The Declaration calls on the international community, the United Nations, UNIDO, and other relevant international and regional organizations, think- ing organizations, civil society, and other stakeholders to consider recommendations when shaping their policies and strategies to support entrepreneurship and innovation for the sake of sustainable development.
Supporting youth entrepreneurship and innovation
The ceremony ended with excitement with the announcement of the winners of the second Arab Race for Innovation.
The competition is targeted at university students in the Arab region and features 20 teams from across the region.
University students and professors have worked hard to find innovative solutions to the many challenges facing the region, in areas such as water, agriculture, renewable energy, pollution environment and environmental waste recycling.
The first prize went to a Syrian company called BEVOL, which designed an unprecedented and interactive international social media platform to promote the culture of volunteerism and enhance the practice of social responsibility. using dynamic means.
Second place belongs to WALTER from Palestine, a company that provides gray water treatment technology solutions to reduce water consumption in public and private facilities. The company’s special water treatment system is based on gray water filtration, storage and underground treatment to be ready to pump into the toilet later.
The third awardee was CLOUD, a company that offers body-friendly, mind-friendly, nature-friendly disposable menstrual pads using 100% organic, healthy materials. and biodegradable.
Impact of the Forum
Over the years, WEIF has supported these young entrepreneurs in their journey to becoming business leaders.
Speaking ahead of the gathering, last year’s Arab race winner, Lebanese Wadah Malaeb, said that the competition has helped him grow and put him on the global map.
“In 2019, I won the Arab Innovation Rally, [led to] An important change in my career. Since then, we have patented our technology, expanded our team, established our chip manufacturing facility. We have established a partnership with academia, with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Beirut,” he explains.
He continued: “We are currently developing, putting various organ and disease models on our chip to create a human model for drug testing. We’ve started conversations with pharmaceutical companies like AstraZeneca to set up studies to showcase our concept of drug discovery. ”
Mr. Malaeb won first prize for his unique invention: Ductal Organoid-on-a-Chip, based on developing organ chip technology. The chip provides an environment in which cells can grow and reorganize into tissue that mimics the human body, providing the perfect atmosphere to efficiently conduct drug testing, while simultaneously save money and the challenge of human trials.
